Requiem for a shadow
by Evil-Super-Director
Summary: With the Akatsuki becoming a greater threat with each passing day and Sasuke still in a world full of hatred and rage, times are set to change. Loyalties will be tested and relationships will be forged, new shinobi will emerge and secrets will be exposed.
1. Fatal Reality

Ok this is my first ever fanfic so please be kind. If your not up to date with the manga there are a few spoilers in this first chapter…and theirs bound to be a few more in the coming chapters as well. This story is basically happening in the same timeline as the manga.

EDIT: ok if you red the first version of this chapter I made it so that Asuma was alive but Pokemon Fan made a valid point saying that I would serve the story better if he was dead. So I've made that slight change. Sorry Asuma fans.

Anyway onto the story. Apart from my OC's, locations, jutsu's etc which will appear later on in the story all other characters, locations, jutsu's etc are all the property of Masashi Kishimoto so basically….I DO NOT OWN THEM. Though I often wish I did.

Also as of right now I don't have a beta reader for this story so if there are any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes that I've missed I apologise.

Chapter 1: Fatal Reality

Naruto couldn't take his eyes off the scene in front of him. Lying dead in front of him and his comrades surrounded by a now near non-existent woodland was Orochimaru's most feared and dangerous summon. Manda the king of snakes.

He felt slightly sick as he looked on at the charred remains of the snake then absent mindedly looked over at his comrades.

Kiba looked as though he was about to throw up, but whether that was because of the decayed state the summon was in or the smell of burnt and decaying flesh he didn't know.

Hinata and Sakura also had similar looks on their faces but he was sure that was down to the smell. Both Hinata and Sakura were medical ninja's so they were used to seeing all manners of grotesque and disturbing injuries through working at the hospital. If the smell was getting to them he felt really sorry for Kiba and only hoped that he'd nullified the jutsu that made his sense of smell more acute.

Shino, Sai, Yamato and Kakashi on the other hand weren't showing any signs of disgust to the scene. He could scarcely hear Yamato and Kakashi talking over what was going on but from parts of the fractured conversation he could gather that the snake had to of been summoned by Sasuke and that meant he couldn't be far.

Everyone's attention was suddenly torn away from the remains of the giant and brought to Akamaru when he started growling towards the woodland. Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan to see what was disturbing the large dog. The area looked clear apart from the odd animal appearing in her line of sight up to 200 meters. She focused more chakra to her eyes expanding her view a few hundred meters more. At 500 meters she couldn't see anything that should have alarmed the large dog until she saw a vague outline of a human. She again focused more chakra to her eyes expanding her eyes range another 100 meters. She finally saw what had set off the large dog.

"What do you see Hinata?" said Naruto who was already in a fighting stance, his right hand perched by his kunai holster so he was ready to attack or defend.

"Three people…about 600 meters ahead…their masking their chakra very well. They're not normal shinobi. They don't appear to know were here." said Hinata the vein's along the side of her head becoming more prominent as she focused more chakra to her eyes.

"Can you see what their doing Hinata?" said Kiba who was trying to calm his canine friend down so he didn't reveal their position.

"Umm…they seem to be following someone." Said the girl concentrating on what was going on in her line of view. The three people ere perched in a tree watching a person below them.

"Is it Sasuke?" said Naruto looking hopefully at the Hyuuga girl.

"I can't tell; that person's just outside the range of my eyes." Said Hinata sadly, she hated disappointing Naruto.

Naruto couldn't control himself. He needed to know whether the person the three figures were watching was the missing Uchiha. He was ready to move until he felt Kakashi's hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down. If we go now before we know what's going on we could be drawn into a fight. If that happens, that will give Sasuke more time to get away. I know it's difficult for you Naruto but we need to be patient." Said Kakashi looking at Naruto. Naruto calmed down but only slightly. Their was logic in Kakashi's words but how could he expect him to calm down when his best friend could potentially be only a few hundred meters away, being stalked by a small group of unknown shinobi.

"Those three shinobi are attacking!" Naruto was brought to his senses by those words and looked at Hinata who was still concentrating on the scene, the veins on the side of her head again had become more pronounced. Naruto guessed she could see more of what was going on as her eyes had grown wide and she looked afraid of what she was seeing.

"Hinata, what is it? What's wrong?" said Kakashi moving away from Naruto towards the Hyuuga girl.

"That group…they must be assassins." Hinata said watching the scene ahead of her.

The unknown person had fallen to the forest floor and the three shinobi hiding in the tree's jumped down and attacked him or her off with precise hits to vital areas on the body. Each member of the three person team had drawn a sword, two had jumped to the side of the unknown person and plunged their swords into the unknown person's chest which had punctured both lungs and if the unfortunate person was lucky had punctured the heart killing them instantly. But the person wasn't fortunate. The unknown person began clawing helplessly at the blades in his or her side all the while coughing up large amounts of blood. The third person stood behind the unknown person and placed their sword against the back of the unknown persons neck and with a quick thrust the sword came through the other side of the person's neck, severing both the neck bone and the persons voice box but had missed the wind pipe by a few centimetres. The unknown person was still alive but only just. The last attack had rendered the person immobile and mute. Just as Hinata thought they were just going to let the individual bleed to death a fourth person appeared with two small swords drawn. The fourth person placed him or herself in front of the unknown person and with the two swords crossed over each other almost like a pair of scissors placed them on either side of the unknown person's neck, just above where the pervious sword was still imbedded. The fourth person then dragged both swords through the unknown person's neck finally severing their head and ending the ordeal. Each member then proceeded to clean their blades on the now dead person's clothes then sheathed their weapons. The three original shinobi who had been hiding in the tree's jumped back into the tree's and ran away from the scene while the fourth stayed behind. The fourth member collected the head of the individual then proceeded to dispose of the body using a jutsu. Once the person was finished he or she followed the direction the rest of his or her team had travelled.

"The unknown person was just killed by them. I can't be sure but I don't think that person was Sasuke." said Hinata hoping that would calm Naruto down who at that moment was being held down by both Kiba and Sakura so he didn't run towards the scene.

"Where are they Hinata? Are they still there?" said Kakashi

"No, they're gone. They've destroyed the body I think and one of them took the unknown persons head."

"They weren't assassins then, they were bounty hunters." Said Yamato

"If so then we need to keep moving. They might see us as allies of the person they just killed and if so they'll attack us." Said Kakashi who started walking back towards the town where they were staying.

"What do you mean?" said Sakura walking quickly to her sensei's side.

"Assassins such as ANBU members just kill their target and take something that was unique to the target for identification, for instance their dog tags then destroy the body. Bounty hunters though have to take the head or even the entire body of the target to be paid for the kill. But if they see anyone else within a 1 mile radius of the target they're treated as secondary targets. They have to be killed so that no one knows of what went on. " said Kakashi, his visible eye darting from left to right studying the surroundings.

Everyone immediately took notice of what he was saying and followed Kakashi away from the area and back towards the small town where they were staying. Everyone remained quite for a while, waiting until they were far enough away. Naruto was the first to ask a question. Yamato and Kakashi weren't surprised by the fact they had so many questions. Bounty hunters were a taboo subject and unless necessary were never brought up in conversation. The questions started of innocent enough but slowly got more macabre and Kakashi answered them with difficulty. He remembered clearly the first time he'd been told about the existence of bounty hunters and the bloodthirsty ways. He wanted to try and spare the more macabre details about those types of ninja's on his and Kurenai's students.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, Why do they have to take the head?" said Naruto saying the question as if what he was implying meant nothing

"To prove it is the target. There are certain jutsu's that can disguise the identity of a person that continue on for a short while after the death of a replacement. If assassins were sent to kill a target the target could easily place their own dog tags on a replacement and wait for the assassins to kill the fake. Since many assassins destroy the body and only take an object that is unique to the target and not something that could definitively identify the target, the real target could then sneak away undetected. Bounty hunters take the head so that if a jutsu has been used to disguise the body they know that their target is still alive. They destroy the body so that if the real target is alive they believe they are safe so they let their guard down. The bounty hunters then come back, track them down and kill them. Then they take the head of the real target to a bounty hunter station and get paid." Said Kakashi while jumping from tree to tree

"But who pays them?" asked Naruto

"Bounty hunters are generally more proficient at assassinating targets than most other ninja, so if a village like Konoha has a target that needs to be killed they normally employ the help of bounty hunters to do so. Though the employment of bounty hunters is normally a last resort type of thing and only used on the most urgent of cases. As I said they take the head of the real target to a bounty hunter station. Once there they take the head to their master and either hand it over to them and get paid or they take the head to whoever issued the assassination in the first place and get paid."

"So you're saying that a village employed a bounty hunter to kill that person?" Sakura asked not really believing a village would be desperate enough to send a bounty hunting team to kill one person.

"Maybe not. Bounty hunters normally take on any mission no matter what it is or who they get it from, and they normally charge far less than ninja villages for their services. That person could simply have been charged with a crime by a small town or village and they might not have had the authority to kill that person. Bounty hunters are basically used as a cheap form of justice to smaller villages. Their employed by everyone from civilians to daimyo's." said Kakashi.

All the while even though he was answering Naruto and Sakura's questions he was paying close attention to his surroundings. The thought that bounty hunters were in the area was very unsettling to the copy ninja. He had been lying when he said that bounty hunters were only more skilled at killing. Bounty hunters were more skilled at being ninja in general. They had to be, they were normally thrust into life threatening situations on a daily basis and had to be able to defend themselves against any enemy and then be able to kill their enemy. They had to excel at taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu or at least be highly proficient at using two of the skills. He'd heard many rumours of bounty hunters being skilled in every kind of skill a ninja could learn, from medical jutsu's to forbidden jutsu's. And the fact that many bounty hunters were A class or S class criminals didn't help matters. Kakashi really did not want to fight a bounty hunter. Fighting the Akatsuki was bad enough as it is. He and his team didn't need to have a team of bounty hunters chasing after them as well.

It's not that he and his team couldn't beat a bounty hunter; they could quite easily but since the formation of the Akatsuki many bounty hunters began to move in teams of four and that's what he was truly worried about. Due to their superior stealth skills two members could hide amongst the trees and not be found while the other two were engaged in combat and when one of them gave the signal the two hidden ninja's would appear and strike the fatal blows to the combatants. If the description Hinata gave of their assassination technique was accurate, this team of bounty hunters worked very well together and were able to attack in complete synch with each other.

But the one thing that was unnerving him the most was what Hinata had said before the kill had taken place. Hinata had originally said when she noticed the group that she could only see three bounty hunters, that meant that the fourth one was more skilled than the other three and was either masking their chakra far better than the other three or had a jutsu that could fool the Byakugan. Either option didn't bode well for them.

When they eventually returned to the village they went to the hotel where they were staying and retired to their rooms. Hinata and Sakura shared one room, Kiba and Shino shared the one next to them along with Kiba's large canine companion, Sai and Naruto shared the one opposite them and Kakashi and Yamato shared the one opposite Sakura and Hinata's room. Both of the Jounin though barely actually shared the room or even went in it unless it was to have secret words that they didn't want the younger ninja's to hear or to plan their next move. For the most part both Jounin were acting as guards for the group and normally stayed on the roof of the building. Each ninja said their goodnights or in Naruto's case muffled plea's, as he begged each of his team mates to let him switch rooms, before closing their doors on the blonde and hearing him dragged kicking and screaming by either Kakashi or Yamato into his and Sai's room.

After relieving Yamato of his watch, while perched on the roof of the hotel Kakashi's mind began to wonder. They'd only been in the village for about a week. Apart from the discovery of the charred remains of Manda they had found today there really hadn't been any sign of Sasuke or the Akatsuki. Kiba and Akamaru as well as his ninja dogs had found traces of Sasuke's scent but nothing definitive though his dogs had all said that Sasuke's scent was strongest when they were in the vicinity of the giant snake.

Kakashi couldn't help but think that the young Uchiha had already moved on to another town and that just waiting around for any sign of him was simply a waste of time. He never voiced this opinion though. He knew that if he did he was likely to be on the receiving end of one of Sakura's chakra enhanced punch's or be attacked by a pissed off kyuubi empowered Naruto.

He knew how deeply the kunoichi cared for the missing ninja and how much Naruto cared for the pink haired kunoichi. He could see it clearly in his eyes how desperately he wanted to get the Uchiha back to make her happy as well as to try and make things the way they were before. He knew that the blonde haired ninja out of everything wanted things to go back to the way they were before all of this happened, before the Uchiha had let all his rage and hatred envelop his heart. Kakashi blamed himself for everything that had happened. He cursed himself daily when he saw the pink haired kunoichi wandering around Konoha's streets with a miserable look on her face or when he saw the blonde training so hard that he would return to his apartment with monstrous gaping wounds all over his hands. Most of all though his cursed his own stupidity and ignorance. He remembered how he would always tell himself that everything would be ok, that Sasuke wouldn't give in to temptation and go to Orochimaru, that Sasuke wouldn't take his brothers words to heart and allow his lust for revenge encompass him. He regretted teaching him one of his most powerful jutsu's, he regretted not taking more time to train Naruto and also in a way Sakura, even though she learned far more from the Godaime than she could ever had learned from him. The Godaime had taught her everything that he neglected to. He'd always foolishly believed that either he, Naruto or Sasuke would be there to protect her so he wouldn't need to teach her the skills she needed. If he'd taught her, the most she would've learned was more about genjutsu. The Godaime had taught her everything she needed to know to be the highly competent ninja she was today.

Regret seemed to be a state of being that followed Kakashi around. He couldn't really think of anything that had happened in his life that made him feel proud to be who he was. His father, Obito, Minato-sensei, Rin and finally Sasuke, he'd let them all down when they needed him the most, when they were screaming out for his help or understanding. Most of them were dead now. Helping Naruto and Sakura save Sasuke was now his last chance to make amends for all the times he failed the people most important to him in the past. And he was more than willing to sacrifice his life if necessary.

"It's not wise to let your mind linger too long on the past sempai" Said Tenzou sitting on the ledge of the window to their room. He knew something was very wrong for two reasons. One Kakashi hadn't summoned any of his ninja dogs, he normally did so that the radius in which he could guard was higher, Tenzou himself did the same by making mokuton bunshin's and spreading them throughout the town and finally two, the little book the silver haired man coveted was still in his kunai pouch .

Kakashi looked in his direction but said nothing. He hated it when people could tell what he was thinking.

"What's wrong, you never used to think about the past so much. You would visit the memorial and that was it. What's changed?" said Tenzou as he approached the silver haired man apprehensively.

"Everything. Before, death didn't follow shinobi as closely as it does now. Asuma was a powerful shinobi and he didn't survive that encounter he had with the Akatsuki six months ago. You should know what's coming Tenzou. It's the same as before." Said Kakashi, not taking his eyes away from the rooftops of the town.

"Forgive me sempai if I sound somewhat dense, but what are you talking about? What's coming?" said Tenzou who now was seriously worried about the silver haired man. He only became this philosophical, withdrawn and daunted by his past when something dreadful was going to happen.

"A war's coming Tenzou, and it is going to be far worse than any of the others. Can't you feel it? The feeling that death is breathing down your neck. That death is just waiting for that fatal blow to be struck. That no matter what you do, this horrifying occurrence is only a stones throw away." Said Kakashi coolly. His one visible eye was devoid of all emotion and seemed hollow as it peered down on the streets below.

"Sempai…why? Why are you thinking all these things? There is no reason for a war on such a scale as your saying to happen any time soon. Sure relationships with other countries aren't as strong as they could be, but nothing has happened to signify that any other country wants to start a war." Now Tenzou was worried but at the same time confused. Relations with other countries weren't that bad were they? Had he been misinformed by his superiors? As far as he knew the alliance with Suna was going well and the ceasefire Konoha had with the other three major shinobi nations was still in effect.

"Who said the war was going to be between countries?" said Kakashi who by now was looking contemplatively up at the moonlit sky.

"What?" now he was seriously confused. If this cataclysmic war wasn't going to be between countries who was it going to be between?

"The war Tenzou is going to be between the Akatsuki and anyone left alive." He was surprised Tenzou hadn't made the realisation himself but he wasn't surprised. Admitting the Akatsuki were as big a threat as that was bound to make morale decrease.

"Wha…what are you saying?" now he was confused, scared and worried about what his sempai was implying. He was confused because he didn't know where this assumption had come from. He was scared that the Akatsuki intimidated the steely nerved shinobi so much. And finally he was worried that his sempai was going crazy. The theory's that he was coming up with about the Akatsuki and what they were capable of doing were insane at best but the idea of them starting a war and death following them wherever they went was just unimaginable. Yes, death did follow shinobi around a lot but that was the danger of their job and yes it was true the likelihood of dying recently increased with the activity of the Akatsuki but with everything he was saying it was almost like the silver haired shinobi was expecting his demise to come any day soon and when he was in a situation that could result in his death, he wasn't going to fight it. He was going to welcome it with open arms.

"The Akatsuki want all of the nine tailed beasts, correct? What do you think they're going to do with them once they have them all? Seal them in new hosts? No Tenzou. Think about it logically. Why seal them in humans when you can just set them free on the world. If the leader of the Akatsuki has a way to extract the bijuu from their jinchuuriki host, then he or she is bound to have a way to control the bijuu once that's occurred. And as far as we know Tenzou, you, Itachi and possibly now Sasuke are the only people who are able to suppress demon chakra. So if I'm right in my assumption that the Akatsuki leader is going to unleash the tailed beasts onto the world, we don't stand a chance. Your abilities to suppress demon charka have their limitations, as does the sharingan's ability. The war will be the nine tailed beasts and the Akatsuki, against anyone who's foolish enough to stand in their way. That's why death is so close to us all now. It's just waiting for that time where we let our guard down and let Naruto fall into the Akatsuki's hands. Once that happens Tenzou. Once they get the Kyuubi. That's when the war begins." This thought had been inside Kakashi's head for a while. He'd been trying to find a reason behind the Akatsuki's need for the tailed beasts and it had hit him one day. It was a fearsome and worrisome reason and one that didn't bode well for anyone. Even if they didn't get all the tailed beasts if they got the other eight tailed beasts but not the Kyuubi the only way to combat them would be to unleash the Kyuubi inside Naruto which meant two things. One Naruto would die and two whoever was controlling the other eight demons would then probably be able to control the Kyuubi.

"How…how can you think that? We won't let our guard down around Naruto. I know especially that you won't, purely out of loyalty to Kushina-sama and Yondaime Hokage-sama." This was not the Hatake Kakashi he knew and respected. Even though he always seemed aloof and slightly detached from reality and in a way depressive because of his certain outlooks on life the man he respected was highly determined and resolute in his decisions, not to mention he always honoured the promises he made to the people most important to him. One such promise being the one he made to Naruto's parents, promising them that he'd never let anything happen to their son.

"Exactly. I won't let my guard down, but I can't exactly protect Naruto if I'm dead now can I?" Kakashi said morbidly

"What? What are you…?" he was caught off guard by this. He just looked at the silver haired man shocked by what he said. This man really did have a death wish. He really did think that he was going to die soon. How could he? How could someone who is both respected and feared at the same time because of his strength be so convinced he was going to be killed?

"I've been saying it repeatedly Tenzou. Each and every one of us, our days are numbered. Death is counting down the minutes until she takes us back with her to Yomi." he knew what Tenzou was thinking. When had all this happened? When had he begun to think he was going to die in the struggle against the Akatsuki? He honestly didn't know himself but he guessed it was after he heard of Asuma's death and his own near death experience at the hands of Kakuzu.

"So that's it. That's why you're like this. You're convinced you're going to die." Tenzou sighed deeply and sat down next to the silver haired man on the roof. He was still deeply confused and unnerved by what he was saying and hoped this was just some sort of phase he was going through. But even now sitting next to him and digesting everything the copy ninja had said so far he had to admit he was starting to feel those feelings as well. The feeling of death being so close it made the air thick with ill will.

"I guess so, but its not surprising is it. When I fought that Akatsuki guy Kakuzu I noticed how strong Naruto and all the others had gotten. They're coming closer and closer to inheriting the will of fire, and taking over as the teachers of the new generations. I guess old men like me eventually get to the point where they begin to think they're becoming a dull blade and their becoming useless to their countries." He still hadn't taken his eyes off the sky. He had to admit shikamaru was on to something with his cloud gazing, it was very relaxing and it gave you time to collect your thoughts and think.

"Stop it! You're not a useless shinobi! Sempai, you are one of Konoha's top shinobi. Even if and when Naruto's generation takes over from ours, he, Sakura and Sasuke will need your help from time to time. Hell even now I need your help sometimes. You are far from being an old worn out tool sempai. You still have loads to teach Naruto and Sakura and I don't think there is really anyone else apart from Naruto who can understand Sasuke better than you." He'd had enough, he hated hearing the man he respected most say to himself that he was worthless.

"You keep on making the assumption that we'll find him." He was still looking at the sky; he didn't really feel that he was there on the rooftop talking to Tenzou. He felt detached from the world, as if he was in some different plan of reality to him.

"You don't think we will?" Tenzou was surprised by this if it was true. Seven days ago when they were standing at Konoha's gates he seemed to have the same opinion of Naruto and Sakura. Failure wasn't an option. They were getting the Uchiha back and that was final.

"Oh no I think we will. But he won't be coming back with us unless it's in some form of body bag. Sasuke is too far gone to just give up his whole idea of revenge to just come back with his comrades. The only way we'll be able to get him back to Konoha alive is if we lure him with something that'll make his execution of revenge faster. Basically he'll only come back with us if we have a foolproof plan of getting Itachi. If we don't' he's going to fight to keep on searching for his brother. That is unless he's found him already." Again he hadn't stopped looking at the sky; he was starting to develop a slight pain in his neck from looking up at an awkward angle for the past ten minutes or so.

"And if that's happened?" said Tenzou who had started to look up at the sky as well. It seemed to be calming the copy ninja and calming down was what Tenzou needed to do now as he waited for his sempai's reply.

"Then there are two outcomes. Sasuke wins or Sasuke loses. If he wins we have one less Akatsuki member to deal with. If he loses, everything Naruto and Sakura have believed in for the past three years, everything they've strived to achieve, everything they've done to get him back, will have been for nothing. Itachi let Sasuke go the last time they fought but this time because Sasuke is far stronger than he was before and poses a potential threat to the Akatsuki, he won't let him go alive." What was wrong with him? When had everything become all dark and gloomy? Why was he like this? More importantly, why wasn't he reading his beloved book? His adoration of his books was like Asuma's addiction to cigarettes. He only stopped when he had to be serious about something. So what was it? There had been no evidence of the Uchiha or the Akatsuki all week apart from today. So what happened today to stir up these feelings in him? Was it the body of the giant snake? No it couldn't be, he'd seen worse things before. Was it the killing of that guy? No again it couldn't be because he'd probably killed someone in that manner before anyway. Was it the fact bounty hunters were in the area? Most likely. He had a history with bounty hunters. One that no one, not even Tenzou or the Hokage herself knew about and he had no intention of telling this history to anyone. This history was one of the main reasons he left the ANBU. He only prayed the bounty hunters that were in the woods earlier had moved onto their next target, but then again he wasn't a very religious man and knowing his luck they were bound to still be in the area.

"You should really go back inside Tenzou and get some rest. When I finish my watch we'll get moving and continuing looking for Sasuke."

"But what about you? You need to rest as well"

"I will, I'll summon my ninja dogs in a minute and send them off patrolling. If they spot anything suspicious I'll wake up and go to their location."

"Wait a minute, if anything happens wake me and the others first. You may think that you're going to die sometime soon sempai but Naruto, Sakura and I won't let that happen. Not yet."

Kakashi didn't answer him. He pulled out a kunai and made a small cut on his right index finger and made the needed hand seals to summon his ninja dogs then sent them off in different directions before retaking his position on the roof.

He lay down on the cold clay roof tiles and just gazed up at the stars trying to collect his thoughts. He couldn't really make out what it was that was unnerving him and making him think about his own mortality. Sure on certain missions he had frequently had thoughts of not making it back alive but this felt different. He couldn't really describe what he was feeling. he felt agitated but at the same time calm. His emotions and feelings were in complete contradiction with each other. He wished that he hadn't told Tenzou all those things. If word of his assumptions got to the Hokage she would probably have him subjected to one of Ibiki's psychological evaluations.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he was going insane. With all the pressure he had placed on his shoulders it wouldn't be surprising. He'd been placed in charge of Naruto's protection and training which also meant he had to make sure the seal holding the kyuubi back stayed intact. he'd put himself in charge of taking care of Kurenai's team which consisted of the Hyuuga heiress who by now was a potentially important political figure in Konoha and the two other shinobi from other highly respected clan's. Not to mention he also had made a silent promise to his deceased sensei and his wife that he wouldn't let anything happen to Naruto. And finally of course the promise he had made Sakura and Naruto that they would get Sasuke back, that failure wasn't an option.

Then of course there was the Akatsuki. He sometimes thought of himself as being the lone crusader against the Akatsuki, even though that was far from being true. He'd been in the most fights with the Akatsuki. He'd fought against the missing earth ninja Deidara, the missing waterfall ninja Kakuzu, the missing leaf ninja Uchiha Itachi on multiple occasions and then of course their was the brief fight he'd had with the missing ninja Hidan. Apart from possibly Jiraiya no one else in Konoha had fought with the Akatsuki so many times and survived. Maybe he was lucky to have survived for so long. He didn't really believe it was just down to his power alone that he was still alive. He was strong for a shinobi but there were stronger, and they were all in the Akatsuki and yet he'd faced some of them and lived. If luck was on his side then soon it was going to abandon him. You could only cheat death herself so many times before she made some deadly yet divine intervention occur that spelled your doom.

His mind had quietened down slightly and was letting him relax so that he could hopefully get some sleep but as soon as this peace came it was shattered as he heard one of ninja dogs barking in the distance.

He reluctantly rose from his position on the roof and went over to the window to his and Tenzou's room.

"Tenzou wake up. My ninja dogs have found something. Wake the others and meet me there." The copy ninja said curtly before taking off in the direction of the barking hound.

The feeling of uneasiness that Tenzou had been feeling since his talk with Kakashi was now stronger than ever. Whatever the dogs had discovered wasn't anything good. For all he knew Kakashi was making his way towards an Akatsuki trap. He quickly dressed and made his way to the other ninja's rooms, telling them to hurry up and meet him outside. He only hoped that his uneasiness didn't show in his behaviour. He really didn't want to have to explain to the other ninja's the reason. It was only now that he realised what Kakashi meant by death being close to them. The air was colder than it should be. It was spring, the air should be slightly warm and inviting but instead it was cold and carried the hint of ill omen. One question kept nagging away relentlessly inside his head. Was Kakashi going to die?

Sorry if I confuse a few people but all should become clear in the next chapter. It's only now that I've noticed how much I've written. 12 pages...damn…sorry I'll try and make the next one a bit shorter if I can.

Anyway please comment on this. I'd like to know if this is interesting to anyone. Positive feedback is likely to make me work faster.

Also if you don't know what Kakashi's going on about when he refers to death being a woman he's talking about Izanami no mikoto who is the goddess of both creation and death and Yomi is the Japanese word for the underworld or hell.


	2. Breakdown in Authority

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up, came down with a major case of writers block and then I started back at college so its taken me a lot longer than it should've to finish this chapter.

As always apart from my OC's, locations, jutsu's etc which will appear later on in the story all other characters, locations, jutsu's etc are all the property of Masashi Kishimoto so basically….I DO NOT OWN THEM. Though I often wish I did.

Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2: Breakdown in authority.

Kakashi made his way towards his ninja dogs readying himself for a fight. The uneasy feeling he had only increased the closer he got to their location. Images of himself ending up like Asuma flashed through his mind. It was only now that he wished he had waited for the rest of the team back at the hotel. Why was he acting so recklessly? He wasn't normally like this; if anything he was sometimes too cautious.

Different scenarios of what his ninja dogs had found flashed through his head. If it was Sasuke then he would be able to stall him long enough for the others to catch up. If it was the Akatsuki he'd be able to stall them for a few minutes but then a fight was bound to erupt between them. The third option he really didn't want to think about, but if it were bounty hunters he might as well just shed himself of all weapons and let them kill him. There was no point in fighting a battle that was already lost.

"Hey Kakashi" said a familiar little pug coming up beside him on the roof he'd landed on.

"What's wrong Pakkun? What did you guys find?" said Kakashi before vaulting up onto the next roof with the dog following.

"Those guys from earlier on that you made us follow before you called us back. They're definitely bounty hunters and they're tailing someone in the town."

"Great" said Kakashi sarcastically. The little dog beside him looked at him strangely before carrying on.

"We don't know who they're tailing. It could be anyone but I did overhear one of them mention something about the Akatsuki." Said the little dog, still looking at his master with an odd expression.

"So a member of the Akatsuki could be their target. That's a bonus for us if it's true. Was that all you could find out?"

"Yes. Whoever these guys are, they're really good. We had a few close calls where they nearly discovered us, so we started to back off a bit. They went their separate ways about five minutes ago. We only called you when we figured it was safe."

"Ok. So why did you call me? Did they leave something behind?"

"Not exactly. When we heard them speaking about the Akatsuki we could gather that they were talking about the guy you and Naruto killed. This is only a guess Kakashi but I think you two stole one of their kills. Maybe that's why they're here, to try and find out who killed him. Ever since Gaara's kidnapping movements of the Akatsuki have been the top priority of most countries, they could easily have found out the movements of some of their members from one of the ninja outposts near by. We may not know a lot about the Akatsuki but we do know that they have the ability to know what has happened to their members. If these guys are after the Akatsuki it might be for information. After all you know how territorial they can be over their kills."

"I hope your wrong pakkun. I really do. It's only a matter of time before they find some information that links his death to us. Once that happens Naruto will have both the Akatsuki and this group of bounty hunters after him."

"Don't forget they'll be after you too. If this group is as thorough as I believe, they'll also come after everyone else that was there too."

"It just keeps getting better doesn't it."

"What's with you? You don't ever mock situations like this. And you definitely don't ever respond to our calls without some form of back up."

"Well we don't know for sure that they're after us, and even if they are we don't know if it's because they want to kill us. Yes they may be territorial over their kills, but their more territorial over their money. As long as they get paid there aren't many bounty hunters that'll take things further than needed. It's only the bloodthirsty ones that do that."

"And what makes you think they're not bloodthirsty?"

"The way they killed that guy earlier. Clean precise blows to vital parts on the body. Bloodthirsty bounty hunters hack and slash their targets until theirs barely anything left of them. Just to spill as much blood as possible."

"Creepy, but you didn't say why you didn't wait for back up."

"I was thinking that you had found a trace of Sasuke. If that were true we couldn't afford to waste time." He knew it was a weak excuse and he knew the little pug was bound to notice. Yet again another person or in this case animal that could read him so well that they were able to see past the lie.

"Right. Look, you know I'm never one to doubt you or the way you do things, but the way you're acting now is completely different to how you normally behave. Is it Sasuke? Are you worried about those bounty hunters finding him? Or are you worried about them finding you?" the little dog knew that it was practically impossible to get a straight answer out of the tight lipped ninja unless you brought up certain aspects of his past.

Kakashi didn't respond and just continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

"What happened that time wasn't your fault. You couldn't have saved her. You shouldn't still feel guilty for being the only member of that team to survive. You nearly didn't if I remember correctly." What the dog said caused a sharp pain to occur in Kakashi's chest. He was about to lash out at the dog for bringing up the subject he forbade him to mention but the feeling of grief that came with the pain outweighed his anger.

"But that's exactly it pakkun, I shouldn't have survived." Said Kakashi mournfully, landing silently on the ground below with the small pug in tow.

"What?" said the little dog, sitting on the ground looking up at his master with confusion.

"It was only because of some miracle that I did survive. So why didn't the miracle that saved me save her as well?" Kakashi just stared blankly at the freshly dew covered ground hoping that the conversation would soon end.

"That's how miracles work Kakashi. But I do know Kakashi that she wouldn't want you to be scolding yourself everyday because of something you had no control over." Said pakkun, before moving aside to let the loud mouthed blonde ninja land beside Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei!" yelled said blonde before he was silenced by Kakashi's hand.

"Be quiet Naruto! Those bounty hunters from earlier are in the area. We need to keep quite and try and find them." Whispered Kakashi angrily before moving his hand from Naruto's mouth.

"And then what? Fight them?" said Naruto with a frown on his face, though whether that was over being silenced before or over the prospect of fighting, he didn't know.

"No. That is the one thing we cannot do. What we need to do is find out why they're here. They must have a second target somewhere in the town. There are two possibilities of who it might be. It's either a member of the Akatsuki or Sasuke."

"Sasuke-kun? Why? Why would they be after him?" said Sakura, shocked at this new development along with Naruto and the other members of the team.

"Because after he killed Orochimaru he became an S-rank criminal, with a huge bounty on his head. If these bounty hunters are after money they'll likely be after him."

"Wait, shouldn't the Akatsuki members have huge bounties on their heads too?"

"They do but currently the bounty for Sasuke's head is larger. After all it's not everyday someone manages to take down one of the Sannin."

With that said, all conversation stopped and everyone started focusing on the job at hand. Hinata activated her Byakugan, Shino ordered his bugs to track down the bounty hunters and Kakashi set his dogs off again. The large group set off in teams of two and again like earlier were accompanied by one or two of Kakashi's ninja dogs. Sakura and Hinata went off in one direction, heading towards the east of the town closely followed by two dogs. Shino and Sai headed towards the western part of the town also followed closely by another two. Kiba and Akamaru headed for the south of the town followed by another. The other three dogs consisting of pakkun, Bull and the dog with sunglasses stayed with Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto before they headed towards the north of the town.

No one spoke as they made their way but Yamato's slightly worried glances weren't' lost on Kakashi. Constantly concealing themselves in the shadowy alleyways they observed everything going on in the streets. People were starting to come out of their homes and prepare their shops or stalls for the day ahead. It seemed like the start of another beautiful sunny day, or at least it did before a mysterious fog descended on the town. Fog wasn't a strange occurrence anywhere so the villagers weren't worried about it at all but to the ninja's hiding in the alleyway the fog set off alarm bells in their heads.

Kakashi pulled his forehead protector up to reveal his Sharingan and it confirmed their suspicions.

"The hidden mist technique. That must mean they are not liked around here if their being more cautious they necessary."

"Or like I said they're being very thorough. Think about it, whether they're after Sasuke or the Akatsuki, both targets mostly likely have allies in this area. If like you said these guys aren't bloodthirsty, then that means they'll want to find their target and kill them with the least amount of attention being brought to them." Said pakkun, who like his brethren was on high alert.

"Well the hidden mist technique is close to medium range jutsu, so whoever cast the jutsu in the first place is within a 10 metre radius of us."

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, How will we know who to look for? What distinguishes them from other people?" said Naruto, squinting his eyes to see through the mist.

"What? Other than the fact that they wear ANBU masks?" said Kakashi sarcastically though soon regretting it when he saw Naruto's face. Now he was surrounded by people and animals that all thought he was acting strange and there were two that even thought he was going crazy.

He saw Naruto try to say something but before a sound could escape his mouth he was silenced by Yamato. He couldn't help but smile under his mask as he saw the irate expression creep across the teens face. But the smile soon disappeared as his senses immediately became alert when he felt a change in the atmosphere. The coldness he'd felt earlier was back again. Yamato noticed the change as well and again had to forcefully silence the blonde before explaining the situation. Kakashi's eyes darted back and forth over the street in front of him. He couldn't see anyone that seemed different to the rest of the town's people and his Sharingan couldn't see any strange chakra patterns.

Slowly the town's people were becoming concerned as the fog started to thicken very quickly and eventually abandoned their stations in the street and returned to their homes.

Yamato and Naruto couldn't see a thing in the fog and even Kakashi's Sharingan was having difficultly seeing through the mist. Kakashi relied on his other senses in this situation and tried to hear for anything. All the civilians had disappeared into their homes so it made it easier to distinguish between sounds. Everything was quite, way too quite. He couldn't hear any birds twittering or dogs barking. The silence only added to his fear. His eyes widened when he heard a small group of footsteps coming in their direction. He silently pulled a kunai from its pouch and concentrated on disguising his chakra, signalling for Yamato and Naruto to do the same. The footsteps finally stopped not far from their position.

Three people came into view. All of them were covered in long hooded travelling cloaks and each had a unique mask covering their face. Two of them were definitely male while the other was defiantly female. The female member seemed to be wearing a cloak that was too small for her so it revealed her tight clothes that accentuated her curves more and her mask was a white bird shaped mask with a simple kabuki mask design around the eyes in red paint. The male on her left was very tall and broad shouldered, and carried two large Kama's latched to a belt on his back. His mask was in the shape of a boar and again had a simple design; two blue lines going from the top of the mask to the bottom. The smaller younger male on the right side of the woman in contrast though looked very skinny and frail. He was carrying a large scroll on his back, and his mask was in the shape of a bird like the woman's, it again had a design of a kabuki mask on it but his was far more complex than the woman's.

"And yet again our brave and talented leader has led us into another godforsaken town which is target-less!" bellowed the larger male, flailing his arms in frustration.

"Do you ever shut up? Just because the targets not in this area of the town doesn't mean he's not here" said the smaller male in a monotonous voice.

"The target's not here. Why doesn't he just accept it? Why don't you all just accept it? There's no point in staying in this town any longer." The bigger man said stubbornly, crossing his arms and scrunching up his face in annoyance.

"The target _is_ here, he knows that. So there is a point in staying. Besides even if we don't find him, there are still many other shinobi wandering about in this village. One of them may have information on his whereabouts. And even if they don't, one of them is bound to have a price for their head."

"Whatever, as long as I get my money I don't care what happens."

"And that is where we differ in our choices Donyoku. You're a bounty hunter out of your own free will. You became one because of the money you can acquire. While I on the other hand am one because I have no choice."

"Yeah not many countries like to hold on to their criminals. You know that all too well don't you Gekido" said Donyoku taking off his mask to reveal his face which was covered in a variety of scars. To Kakashi for all the world he resembled a slightly younger Ibiki.

"Idiot! Don't say my name and don't take off your mask!" spat Gekido wrathfully.

"Oh for the love of…You made the fog too thick for us to even see through! How the hell is anyone else going to be able to see us!" again with arms flailing the man bellowed at the smaller one, threatening to punch him before he was stopped by a smaller more feminine hand stroking across his chest.

"That's not the point Donyoku-san" said the female member teasingly, placing her masked face next to his ear.

"Then what is? If no one can see us what's the harm in taking these bloody masks off for a while?"

"Because a bounty hunter **never** take's their mask off. _**Never**_. That is one of the first things you learn as a bounty hunter, you know that. Or at least you should." The voice came from above them; Kakashi quickly looked up to see a figure of another young ninja sitting lazily on the rooftop above them. The ninja wasn't very tall and he couldn't see anything distinctive about the person that showed whether they were male or female. The ninja's voice though surprised Kakashi. This person was very secretive and obviously didn't trust anyone, especially any of his or her team mates. The ninja's mask was fitted with a device that distorted their voice. It made the ninja's voice sound like multiple people were all talking at the same time at different pitches. The ninja's mask was shaped like a wolf or foxes face and had a simple red design on it.

"Oh look, if it isn't our great leader. Where have you been you bastard! We've been walking around this bloody town for hours and we still haven't seen the target."

"I've been making sure our mission can be executed with ease so we can get out quickly. This village is within fire country, Konoha shinobi frequent it. Its one of their outposts, most of their shinobi come here to buy last minute equipment for missions. They will see us as a threat and they will slow the progression of this mission if they get involved."

"Whatever. All I know is that were doing all the legwork on this mission. So far you haven't lifted a finger to help us." said Donyoku who had calmed down marginally. The leader of the group stood up from their position on the rooftop and disappeared momentarily before appearing next to Donyoku holding a kunai to his throat.

"Maybe I should re-educate you on the chain of command Donyoku. We all may be younger than you but you are the weakest in this team. You have no say in what happens regarding the missions we take. We **will** continue searching this town and we **will **find the target." Said the ninja coldly before taking the kunai from his neck and walking away from his or her team-mates.

"Whatever." Donyoku said before turning around to face his leader. The leader stopped a few metres from the group and turned around to look at Donyoku.

"Donyoku, if you ever show me or any of your superiors disrespect again, I will make it my own personal mission to make sure you suffer for your insubordination. Now put your mask back on and keep moving." Donyoku looked anxious as he felt the massive killing intent coming from the ninja and decided to be quiet.

"What about you sempai?" said the female team member not phased by the wave after wave of killing intent coming form the younger ninja.

"There are five teams of Konoha shinobi in the village. One of which is hiding in that alleyway next to you."

Kakashi's blood ran cold. They'd found them. This was it, they were going to die. He partly heard Yamato say something behind him. It sounded like 'we should run'. Didn't he realise that even if they did run that it wouldn't make much difference? No matter how fast they ran the bounty hunters would eventually catch up and then it was game over. The most they could do was send pakkun to alert the other teams so they had a chance to make a run for it.

"The other four are spread around the village. Assess the threat they pose to the mission. If they are allies of the target they will most likely fight. If that occurs by all means kill them. Otherwise leave them be. I will continue looking for the target while this is going on. Until I return Niku is in command."

Kakashi heard Yamato and Naruto sigh in relief but he didn't join them. This was very strange behaviour for a bounty hunter. They barely ever showed mercy on anyone, even their own kind. Why was this one different?

"Hell no! I'm not taking any orders from a woman!" screamed Donyoku, throwing his mask on the ground and pointing wildly in the direction of the female bounty hunter.

"Why not?"

"Why do you think? Women are weak and pathetic! They're useless at being shinobi! The only thing they do well is seducing and fucking the enemy! That's it! They can't fight! They can't do anything right! And I don't care what you say brat cause I refuse to take any orders from her!"

"If you don't, you die"

"Die?"

"I told you Donyoku that if you were insubordinate again I would make you suffer. I will kill you in the slowest and most painful way possible. I will not stand insubordination in my team so you had best learn quickly. I am willing to let you live as long as you do as Niku orders."

"Fine. Why the change of heart? Afraid I might hurt you pretty boy."

"No. You couldn't land a hit on me even if you tried. I changed my mind purely because I don't want to kill my comrades. Though for you I'm willing to make an exception."

"Bastard! That's it! I'm taking no more orders from you or anyone in this goddamn team!" roared Donyoku, pulling the two large Kama's from his back and spinning the weighted end's of both weapons at the younger shinobi, occasionally throwing one of the weights to try and hit the younger shinobi or ensnare him. The younger shinobi easily dodged all of the oncoming attacks before infusing his or her hands with chakra and catching both weights then subsequently crushing both of them and pulling the remainder of the now partially broken weapon out of the hands of its bewildered owner.

Donyoku taken aback by what happened inched away from the masked shinobi before glaring at the ninja and reaching into the pouch on his hip, pulling two scrolls out. His eyes never broke contact with the masked ninja as he bit down on his thumb, drawing blood and proceeded to summon and barrage of kunai and shuriken attached to chakra strings connected to his fingers.

"Let's see you dodge this asshole!" yelled Donyoku, an insane look plastered on his face. "Soushuuha!" yelled Donyoku as the barrage of blades went flying towards the younger ninja.

"Pathetic, you really think you can beat me with such low level ninjutsu?" the younger ninja said emotionlessly while performing a few hand seals "Doton: Doro Gaeshi!" yelled the younger ninja striking the ground with their hands. A large wall of earth erupted from the ground and blocked all of the oncoming blades. Donyoku looked on and pulled another two scrolls from his pouch and again placed blood on the seals inside but this time he held onto the scrolls as a seemingly endless amount of weapons shot out from the scrolls towards the ninja.

"You really don't stand a chance against him Donyoku, you've only been in our team for a while but even you must realise the difference in power between you." Said Gekido drearily behind him.

"Why are you trying to stop them Onii-san? You're the last person I'd expect to try and stop a fight, even if it is between comrades." Said Niku teasingly to her brother.

"I'm not trying to stop it nee-san. Actually I want the fight to go for as long as possible. But if Donyoku die's that means we have to do more work. You wouldn't want to get blood on your clothes or dirt under your nails would you nee-san?"

"Of course not. So I guess that means we should stop this." Said Niku miserably, secretly she'd wanted to see Donyoku get killed by her sempai.

She quickly formed a set of hand seals before disappearing into the mist.

Donyoku was still throwing large amounts of weapons at the younger ninja, each new barrage of weapons becoming embedded in a new layer of earth spouting up from the ground. Gradually as he ran out of weapons he edged away from the ninja and stepped in a large puddle on the ground. Paying no attention to it he started to plan his next move. That is before he started feeling the growing pressure on his legs. He looked down and saw the water rising up and enveloping his body.

"What the hell?!" yelled Donyoku, struggling against his liquid bonds desperately clawing at the liquid only to have his hands go through it as if it were normal water.

"What your experiencing Donyoku is my sister's version of the Konoha shinobi's Jubaku Satsutechnique. Try not to move. You wouldn't want her to break all your bones now would you?" said Gekido walking over to the larger ninja and staring at him.

"Break all my…?" Donyoku's eyes widened as he looked at the younger ninja and his body became still and motionless.

"Yes, she is capable of doing that. All she has to do is put more chakra into the water, if she does the water becomes more stable and in a way more solid. You just better be glad you're not experiencing the full force of our Kekkei Genkai. If she used her original technique that uses our Kekkei Genkai you'd be dead before you even realized she'd done something to you."

"See Donyoku, you thought Niku was weak just because she was female and now she has you trapped in a position that could lead to your death." Said the leader as the earthen guards receded back into the ground.

"Niku, as I said you're in charge. Find the other Konoha shinobi and assess what threat they pose to the mission. If Donyoku poses as more of a threat to the completion of this mission by all means kill him. Remember no harm is to come to the Konoha shinobi unless they attack first or are after the target."

"Of course sempai." said a distorted female voice coming from the puddle beneath Donyoku. Slowly the water surrounding Donyoku subsided and the puddle beneath him moved away and rose up to form Niku. "No need to worry, I'll be more than happy to kill Donyoku if need be."

"Ok, I'll meet you all back here in three hours. I want all of the Konoha teams to have been investigated by the time I get back." Said the leader ninja, turning away from his team and vaulting up on to the roof he or she had occupied before speeding off towards the northern part of the town.

"Now let's see what dogs from Konoha are in this town." Said Niku turning away and walking towards the alley.

Kakashi took that as the cue to reveal himself along with Naruto and Yamato. They had no choice, they either revealed themselves on their own or they were forced to by the bounty hunters. Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato stood on one side of the street which headed towards the south while the bounty hunters stood on the opposite side which headed north.

"Well, well if it isn't the famous copy ninja, you've got quite the bounty on your head Hatake, pity we can't kill you. After its entire not everyday you get the chance to cross swords with one of Konoha's finest." Said Niku excitedly as she took in the sight of the copy ninja.

"Can't we kill them? I know sempai said not to but he won't know whether we were only defending ourselves or whether these guys were or weren't helping the target." Said Gekido, his eyes that were hidden behind his hawk mask almost glowing.

"Well you know how I feel about dog's dear brother. They should all be killed…" Said Niku, forming seals again.

"Every." Niku placed her hands in front of her and raised them above her head, all the water from the mist and the rain from the day before mimicking the action and rising as well.

"Last." The water had risen to above her head and was now separating itself above her, beginning to take form of weapons.

"One." The water finally solidified and took the shapes of thousands of senbon needles.

"Time to die scarecrow." said Niku finally before quickly lowering her arms.

"Sensatsu Suishou!"

Ok shorter than the first chapter…but only marginally. As always please comment on this. Positive feedback will make me work faster though not much faster right now. I'm back at college so the writing of new chapters will be delayed a bit.

Also I'm still looking for a beta.


	3. Dark Waters

Chapter 3: Dark Waters

There was no way they could dodge all of them. Even if Yamato put a wooden barrier around them because the needles were made of water they could be reused again and again, there would be no end to them, unlike Yamato's chakra supply. Endless amounts of plans kept appearing in Kakashi's mind, but each one had a major flaw that could result in one of them being turned into a human pin cushion.

As the first barrage of needles came down each of the three ninja dodged the attack somehow, but were then attacked from the sides by the other two bounty hunters. Kakashi was attacked by the larger and somewhat slower ninja Donyoku, while Yamato and Naruto were attacked by the much faster Gekido. Donyoku again was wielding one of his large Kama's and was swinging the weapon wildly, desperately trying to hit the copy ninja. Kakashi countered each of the bounty hunters attacks easily but briefly looked sideways to see what was happening with Naruto and Yamato. He knew with yamato with him he would be ok but it didn't change his uneasiness about leaving the boy to fight a bounty hunter. It was in those brief few seconds that Donyoku took the advantage and was finally able to slash Kakashi brutally on his side. Kakashi doubled over and fell from the rooftop to the street. Rather ungracefully he landed and clutched his side, feeling the warm liquid ooze from the wound.

"Is this all the great copy ninja can do?" said Donyoku landing with a loud thud, grinning madly to himself. "If so, then the price for your head is way too high."

"Don't be so cocky, the real fight hasn't even started yet." Said Kakashi, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Kakashi got to his feet and winced as he felt a burning sensation shoot up his side. He slowly took a deep breath and readied himself in a fighting stance.

The two ninja just glared at one another before charging at each other again. Yamato could see the female ninja preparing another volley of needles from his spot on the rooftop. Unless she wanted to harm her team mates as well they would have to abandon their fights and get out of the way. This was their chance to escape.

Naruto was unleashing a small army of shadow clones on Gekido who was madly slashing away at them with two katana's made out of water. Yamato formed a set of hand seals and tree roots sprouted from the rooftop and sent razor sharp branches in Gekido's direction. He grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his cloak and pulled him away just before the branches collided with Gekido. He narrowly missed the attack, vaulted over Naruto and Yamato before returning to safety behind his sister with Donyoku in tow.

Kakashi weakly jumped up to where Yamato and Naruto were, still holding his side. The wound hadn't stopped bleeding and most of the left side of his flak jacket was dyed black from the blood. He hid the wound from Yamato and Naruto and focused on finding a way to escape. Niku altered the angle of her arms and pointed the needles towards the building they were standing on.

"Naruto, Yamato, the second she unleashes that attack dodge it and run. It doesn't matter what direction, just run."

"If we do that we'll be separated." Said Yamato

"We have no other option. If we keep fighting were going to get injured or an innocent will be. We'll each make contact with the other groups and meet up near the entrance to the village. Got it?"

Both ninja's nodded in reply and focused on the needles.

"Seems like they're gonna try and run." Said Gekido dryly

"Good, that makes it more fun" said Donyoku chuckling evilly as he eyes rested on Kakashi. "I already know who I'm going after."

"Remember Donyoku-san; don't use any jutsu's that are unique to you to take him out. Senpai will notice things like that easily." Said Niku, adjusting the angle of her needles so that they purposefully didn't hit Kakashi, Yamato or Naruto

"I know, I know. Will you please just hurry up and attack them Niku." Said Donyoku hurriedly.

"Fine, I'll take the kid and brother, you can take the mokuton user but could you please take him alive, mokuton users are very rare so his body holds many secrets. Secrets that will make it so that one of us may never have to work again."

"One of us?" said Donyoku slightly confused.

"You, Donyoku-san. My brother and I enjoy being bounty hunters, whereas you see it just as an occupation. With that guys body you can rest assured that you won't have to work with us any more."

"Really? You'd better not mess up then Gekido." Said Donyoku merrily looking past Niku at the bird masked man.

"Believe me, if it gets rid of you quicker I won't mess up." Said Gekido wryly.

"Here we go then." said Niku throwing her arms down and setting loose the rain of needles.

Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto each jumped in different directions and as Kakashi ordered kept running. Each ninja soon became aware of one of the bounty hunters trailing after them.

Niku easily caught up to Naruto within minutes and started to attack. Pulling some kunai from her holster she quickly took aim and hurled them at Naruto. Most of them missed him but one snagged his travelling cloak pinning it to the rooftop. She formed a set of hand seals, reeled her head back and...

"Mizurappa!", from her mouth shot a jet of water that within seconds nailed Naruto in the chest which sent him flying through the wall of a near by house.

"Well that was boring, I really for a minute thought I'd get a good fight from you kid."

She was about to walk away when she spotted a trace of movement in the dust and smoke. She was immediately dragged into the air by a red chakra hand and with the chakra still around her brought plummeting to the street below and thrown to the earth. The force she was thrown at was enough to cause a large crater to form in the street. Niku cursed as pain spread through out her body with every movement she made. Once she was in a sitting position she cursed even more as she noticed her mask had been destroyed in the process and her elegant tight kimono like clothing was in tatters. She quickly gave herself an evaluation and noted that the only injury's she'd received were burn marks from the red chakra.

'_Who or what is that kid? I've never felt that kind of chakra before, and I've never heard of a ninja being able to extend that amount of chakra from their body at that concentration without being killed.' _

When the smoke cleared Naruto jumped up to the rooftop from the now partially demolished building, his eyes glowing red and the Kyuubi's chakra flaring around him violently. He looked at the damage that he and Niku had caused and was taken aback when he heard the screaming of the family in the house below. He could just make out the cries of someone who was injured and their family madly screaming for help around them. He looked down mournfully, his glowing red eyes slowly showing a slight shade of blue sanity, before he saw someone lunge at him from the side. Niku again was on the attack, slashing wildly at Naruto in a similar fashion to her brother, but with each slash the Kyuubi's chakra was slowly causing the kunai she was using to melt. The hot liquid metal splashed on her wrists and the kunai hand been whittled down to the bandaged handle. She looked down at the ruined kunai in shock, and then at Naruto in fear.

'_What the fuck?! How the hell did he just do that?!' _

Naruto's patience was wearing thin. In his Kyuubi enhanced state he was slowly losing control, he could fell the pressure from the demon fox's chakra building up, threatening to consume him. He started to feel the fox's chakra take form around him, the first tail started forming and he set his sights on Niku, the fox's words of anger and sadistic encouragement egging him on. Once the first tail was fully formed he lunged at Niku making her crash into the opposite building. As she fell to the ground Naruto jumped into the air and let out a shockwave of chakra, further pummeling her into the ground before landing beside her in the second small crater. He smiled at her evilly as she feebly tried to pry her leg from beneath a mass of rock. Focusing as much chakra as he could to his fists he started his brutal onslaught of punches as he pummeled Niku's small frame into the earth. Only when the satisfying sounds of gargled cries and difficult breathes reached his ears did he stop to admire his handy work. Niku had been pummeled into a now significantly larger crater. Her arms were contorted in ghastly positions, each broken in multiple places. The only thing that was keeping her legs attached to her abdomen were the thin layers of muscle and skin. Her eyes had rolled back into her head and the only signs of life coming from the bounty hunter were the horrid wet sounds of her coughing and choking on her own blood. Her body weakly started going into spasms as her last breathes fled from her body. Once her body became still, Naruto stepped back in shock, his current blues eyes replacing the eyes of the fox and the red charka dissipating rapidly. He looked down at his blood soaked hands as they shook uncontrollably. This was the first time he'd killed. This was the first time his hands had been tainted with blood that wasn't his own. This was the first time he'd let the fox satisfy its lust for blood. This was the first time he'd truly been afraid of what the fox could do if he took over completely. He weakly turned away from the scene and walked in the direction of the entrance to the village, only managing a few steps before his legs gave out beneath him as he sunk to the floor trembling.

Not too far away in a more deserted part of the town Gekido and Yamato were facing off against each other in an old abandoned manor. There were no innocent people to harm here, just old buildings to destroy. The old manor was a perfect fighting ground for them. Simply put, it was just vacant, there were no obstacles that would get in their way, and there were no places to hide.

After a few minutes though both ninja's found out they were equal in strength. Both ninja had now given up on ninjutsu and had each made a weapon out of their chosen elements and prepared to test each others taijutsu skills.

Yamato had created a Bo staff from hardened chakra infused wood and Gekido again had created two katana's made from water. Both ninja charged at each other, fueled by adrenaline. Gekido swung his swords up and down in a perfect arc, aiming to slice the wooden staff in half. Yamato blocked easily with the chakra infused weapon and felt the shock as the swords clashed with the wood. Yamato instantly changed his grip and tried to trap Gekido's hands, but he dissolved his swords and jumped out of the way and lunged at Yamato. Yamato blocked quickly and was pushed back to his starting position. Both ninja stared coldly as they circled each other cautiously. Again they charged at each other, Gekido still keeping the same tactic of disarming Yamato in mind as he started attacking with such viciousness that he was able to back the ANBU into a corner. With Yamato backed up against one of the old decaying buildings it was only a matter of time before Gekido let his guard down enough for Yamato to counter attack. Yamato ducked under an attack meant to claim his head and drove his bo staff upward and knocked the bounty hunter off balance. Yamato immediately set to work on disarming his opponent and escaping. He performed a few seals and the Bo staff divided into two smaller staff's. As Gekido fought to recover, Yamato struck his elbows hard. Fire shot up his arms, into his shoulders, and he lost his grip and the twin swords fell to the floor, dissolving back into water after a few seconds. Yamato kept up his attack, intending to leave the bounty hunter incapable of pursuing him. The staff's slammed into Gekido's ribs and he felt another wave of sickening pain. He fell to his knee's and began to cough up large amounts of blood, clutching his chest repeatedly as his lungs failed to take in air. Yamato was now positive he couldn't pursue him. No ninja could pursue another highly skilled ninja with broken ribs and possibly punctured lungs. He turned his back on Gekido and began to talk away unknowing how wrong he'd been. The bounty hunter shakily got to his feet and charged at Yamato, pulling a kunai from his holster. Gekido plunged the knife into Yamato's side and thought he'd finally won as he heard the ANBU cry out in pain. That is, before he saw the crazed look in Yamato's eyes and the pillar of wood shoot up from the ground and throw him into one of the rooms of the dilapidated building. Sitting up slowly he coughed up blood again only to see Yamato glaring at him while holding his side with his left hand and holding a kunai with an exploding note attached with the other. Yamato threw the kunai and it embedded itself in the wall of the old building before exploding and bringing the entire structure down on Gekido.

Groaning in pain as he clutched his side he vaguely wondered how Kakashi and Naruto were doing before walking towards the western part of town where Sai and Shino should be.

Sakura and Hinata had found Naruto, bloody hands and all, mumbling to himself and half-heartedly sobbing. Sakura didn't know what to say other than suggesting that they find the others while Hinata very timidly tried to comfort Naruto. By the time Yamato had found Sai and Shino Hinata, Sakura and Naruto had met up with Kiba and Akamaru and were waiting for them by the entrance to the village. Sakura quickly set to work healing the wound on his side while they each took turns briefing each other over what they had seen since splitting up. As time went by the situation was becoming more serious. There had been no sign of Kakashi. When the older ninja hadn't appeared after he'd arrived, Yamato began to panic slightly. If anything he had expected the copy ninja to have been the first to arrive. The alternative idea's Naruto and Sakura had come up with as to why their leader was still MIA weren't reassuring either. Sakura said that he may have encountered Sasuke and had started a fight with him and Naruto had suggested an encounter with the Akatsuki. And then of course there was the final option. He'd been killed by the bounty hunter who had followed him. He quickly shook his head and rid himself of those thoughts. That couldn't have happened.

And he was right. Kakashi was still alive but hadn't been able to lose Donyoku in the woodland surrounding the village. They had been chasing each other for ages, playing a very long game of cat and mouse and neither ninja was closer to ending it. Donyoku occasionally threw a hail of kunai at Kakashi, trying to pin the slippery copy ninja in place for a few seconds. Every time the kunai came flying at him Kakashi quickly dodged and tried to lose the bounty hunter by rebounding from tree to tree until he was either further ahead of him or behind him. He didn't know how but every time he tried the tactic Donyoku found him within seconds. It was only now as his mind tried to quickly come up with another escape plan that he realized how he was finding him continuously. While they were chasing each other Kakashi had started to analyse the ninja, trying to find the best way to lose him or kill him. Like himself Donyoku was a tracking type ninja. One of his senses was sharper than the others. He guessed that like himself it was his sense of smell. If so the bounty hunter could easily keep track of him from the wound on his side. He remembered countless times when he was on a mission and he was able to track his target by either using his dogs or his own sense of smell to trace the coppery metallic fragrance of blood.

Going through the list of escape plan's he'd tried he was seriously running out of options. He'd used Kage Bunshin. Donyoku had quickly destroyed them all by attaching a kunai to chakra chains connected to his two Kama's. He'd used genjutsu but Donyoku surprisingly was able to see through it quite quickly. The only real option he hadn't tried was his Sharingan but in his current situation that was really a last resort. To use the sharingan meant he had to face and make eye contact with Donyoku for more than a few seconds. When in close combat it was easy, but when in pursuit not so much. Blood loss was also becoming a worry. The wound he'd received had been deep but not deep enough to damage any major organs, arteries or veins. He figured that without treatment soon he'd lose too much blood to be able to keep running at this pace, and then of course their was the risk of infection. He needed to find a way to end this soon without a confrontation.

His senses became alert to the sound of water. They were close to one of the major rivers that ran through fire country and into Kusa, the Hateshinai River. It was his only chance, he'd have to dive into the river and use it as a cover to escape.

Kakashi doubled his efforts and sped towards the river with Donyoku in close proximity. When Kakashi finally made it to the cliff's edge he prepared himself for the dive. It wasn't the first time he'd done something like this, but it was the first time he'd dived into water where he didn't know how deep it was and from such a height. He guessed the drop was about 100 feet. If he came out of this without any broken bones it would be a miracle. The last time he'd done something like this he'd dislocated his left shoulder and broken his right wrist. He remembered how he'd barely been able to swim to the surface of the lake. Thankfully that time his team had been waiting at the embankment.

The cliff edge came into view and he jumped down from the trees and sprinted into a swan dive over the edge. He briefly heard Donyoku bellow behind him and the ringing of a metal chain and a dull thud.

'_Shit…I forgot about that'_

He couldn't see anything other than a blurred reality. He could vaguely feel a sharp pain in the back of his head as the wind whistled past. He could slowly feel consciousness leave him as the cold waters below came ever closer. Donyoku took the mask off his face and smiled in victory as he saw the near lifeless copy ninja collide with the dark water.

It was over. He could just about feel the cold water surrounding him, the icy water rushing into his lungs. He weakly thrashed against the current, but it was too strong for him. his struggles became wilder, and then they stopped.

Donyoku still held the victory smile on his face as he latched the blood tinted weapons on his back. He put the mask back on and turned toward the village. He'd thought briefly about tyring to retrieve the ninja's body from the murky depths but thought otherwise. He wouldn't really be able to explain to his leader as to how he had fell into the hateshinai river when he had no need to be anywhere near there. One thing he didn't like is that no one would believe that he had brought down the copy ninja. Unless he had his head as proof, his name wouldn't be added to his ever growing list of kills. Still as far as he knew…

The copy ninja Hatake, Kakashi was dead.

* * *

**_Sorry it's taken me so long. I've been really, really busy with college work and then I had a major case of writers block. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter, even though I did kill off Kakashi..._**

**_Don't flame me just for that reason alone, and don't flame me for killing him in a very unheroic way. _**

Also still looking for a beta.


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